


100 Kinds of Frack-Ups

by lunarsilverwolfstar



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, F/M, Minor Barry Allen/Iris West, Romance, Shit goes down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-22 00:51:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8266646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarsilverwolfstar/pseuds/lunarsilverwolfstar
Summary: In trying to 'fix' everything, Barry damages the thread of time some more. There is a lesson to learn here: Don't mess with time.





	1. In Which She is Always the Right Woman

**Author's Note:**

> So, someone on tumblr posted this gem:  
> Ep(100 emoji)*mansion  
> F: what are u doing?  
> O: I'm supposed to be getting married  
> F: I know, so-  
> O: So-I'm marrying the wrong woman  
> F: (admiring emoji)  
> O: I love you
> 
> and a CERTAIN SOMEONE shared this EPIC post with me. Of course, ~~Calli~~ the person who shared it with me and I immediately thought someone had to fic it. The thing is, we say this about awesome posts all the time and 9/10, we never do anything. 0.09 Calli does something. The other 0.01 I ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING, but 0.01 guys, come on. Apparently, this is 0.01.
> 
> So, anyway, if you know who this post originated from PLEASE LET ME KNOW so I can rightly credit them. I'm hoping for various drabbles throughout the entirety of season 5, but we'll see. For sure, I have at least two others.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oliver, what are you doing here?"  
> He shut the door and cleared his throat. "I'm supposed to be getting married?"  
> She frowned. "I know, so wh-"  
> "So I'm marrying the wrong woman."

Felicity was just leaving the Queen mansion (or castle, as she called it in her mind) after helping Thea get ready for the wedding. She wasn't great at makeovers and didn't quite understand why the youngest Queen wanted her help when she could have hired a professional, but she appreciated her friendship.

She'd just reached the last step when someone opened the door. Taking in the neat suit and clean face, her heart stopped.

"Oliver, what are you doing here?"

He shut the door and cleared his throat. "I'm supposed to be getting married?"

She frowned. "I know, so wh-"

"So I'm marrying the wrong woman."

She gasped. He said it so matter-of-fact, like he'd just announced he wasn't getting that new motorcycle after all.

Felicity's heart kickstarted as he approached her, taking one hand in his, the other cupping her face. She tried not to let her hope get the best of her. It'd happened once before and she'd been sorely disappointed. What's to say this time would be any different? Inhaling sharply, she tried to speak, but no words came, none but his name.

"I love you."

Looking into Oliver's gaze, she melted under the intensity. Her mind screamed at her to stop, to think about this rationally, but her heart leapt in unadulterated joy. The words she'd wanted to hear two years ago were ringing in her ears and she pushed all doubt aside, leaning in as he bowed his head to press his lips against hers.

Fireworks exploded. Felicity was the first to close what little space remained between them, her hands delving into his hair. It wasn't as long as it'd been when they first met, but still enough so she could tug him closer. Her nails scraped his scalp and, had she the mind for it, she would have pumped her fist in the air in self-congratulation. As it was, Oliver's tongue was distracting her as it caressed her thoroughly. The only thing that came to mind as he pressed her against the staircase rail was that this never would have happened if Oliver hadn't spilled a latte on his laptop and she'd been the only IT person working past lunchtime.


	2. In Which Barry is Tempted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If he learned _anything_ these past few months, in trying to fix the timelines, was that one never fucked with time because it just fucked you right back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am overwhelmed by the response. I forget the difference between writing in a fandom that's almost gone vs. one that's still going strong. Love it! Thank you so much for the reviews and kudos!

Barry sat on the groom's side, with Iris, Joe, and a little girl sitting on his lap. She was no more than two years old and her name was Eleanor. The name didn't escape him and he held the girl a little tighter until she squirmed in his grip.

"Daaaaaah," she whined and he immediately let go, blushing as various people turned to look, some with looks of sympathy, others… not so much.

"Here, Barry, I'll get little Nora," Joe whispered, reaching across his daughter for his granddaughter, whom was reaching her chubby arms out for the older man.

"That's alright. I got her." He looked down at his daughter, olive complexion with Iris' dark eyes and a head of thick, dark hair. She was a perfect mixture of him and his wife (in _this_ life). In a life that wasn't right. In a life that didn't exist in _his_ reality.

This wasn't the first time he'd been here.

The first time he was here, Oliver married the woman who was walking down the aisle.

In his original timeline, Laurel Lance was dead. If that was for the best, he wasn't sure. What he did know was that when he went back too far, he made things worse.

When he tried to fix things _again_ , he accidentally brought back Tommy Merlyn, a man he didn't even know, but was Oliver's best friend. It was a wedding he'd been forced to attend by the Dark Archer when he visited Starling City pre-powers. How he was able to become a speedster again, he preferred not to think about.

Finally, though, he must have done _something_ right because Oliver left just as it was his turn to make his vows to the wrong woman.

Chaos erupted, but Barry ignored it all as he looked down at the little girl in his arms once more, he was sorely tempted, as he'd been the first time, to stay. This time, he had Eleanor, Iris, _and_ Joe. A Joe and Iris that talked to one another. A _daughter_. And it looked like Oliver had finally gotten his head out of his ass and if he knew the man, he ran to be with the _right_ woman. But Felicity's words echoed in his head.

"So go and fix this. NOW!"

Just because things _seemed_ to work out, didn't mean they were right. As they made their way outside, he watched John Diggle with his _son_ , stepson/nephew, and wife, _Carly_.

If he learned _anything_ these past few months, in trying to fix the timelines, was that one never fucked with time because it just fucked you right back.

Iris' voice brought him back to reality ( _a_ reality). "Can you believe that? He just _left_."

He shrugged, caressing Eleanor's hair and making soothing noises as the chaos around them threatened to interrupt her sleep. "Maybe she wasn't the right one for him."

Her ring caught the sun's light as they stepped outside. She gestured to relieve him of the small bundle resting her head on his shoulder and shrugged when he shook his head. "Yes, but if he'd been man enough to admit that _before_ all this, he could have prevented some serious heartbreak. Sure, Laurel would have still been hurt, but instead of making her life out to be a circus this _sham_ could have been avoided."

Hearing the words from the love of his _lives_ hit him harder than anyone else's ever could. Because she was right, this was all a sham. With every ounce of self-control, he managed not to burst into tears right then and there. Instead, he sniffed and handed Eleanor to her.

"Barry?" Iris stared at him oddly.

"I'll-I'll be back." He took one last look at them, at his could-be family, before turning around and controlled his stride, making his way to the back of the church. Just as he got ready to run, ready to try again, he caught Laurel's face contort from sadness to pure astonishment. A pang of regret coursed through him, but he knew now that his life was not here and he was no one to change what happened.


	3. In Which Comfort is Given

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue between two good friends about a certain idiot. (Follows timeline of last two chapters.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that not all of these will be in order. Some may even be alternate timelines that don't go with the first I wrote. Some may be alternates of the alternates I wrote. It’s not called 100 Kinds of ~~Fuck~~ Frack-Ups for no reason.

"My brother's a jerk and doesn't deserve you. For that matter, he doesn't deserve anyone, but…"

"I just… I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for his lies."

"If it's any consolation, I believed him too. And, to be honest, I was upset at first, because he'd been with _her_ for so long, that I couldn't believe they'd every break up. But then I met you and really got to know you and I hoped… I hoped you would be the one to help Oliver. All she ever did was ignore his bad qualities."

"I did too."

"Maybe you overlooked certain aspects, but you never took things lying down. When I first walked in on you laying it on him, I thought he would walk out for sure. Instead, he apologized and said he would do better, _be_ better."

"And I believed him. Shame on me."

"I believed him too."

"That's when you began talking to me and not looking at me like I was just some nerd hanging around your brother."

"Hah. It was a little worse than that. I started seeing a woman who would match my brother perfectly rather than the blonde nerd who was trying to break apart my brother and his _wonderful_ girlfriend, as I thought of her at the time."

"Thanks for the honesty, Thea."

"I'll always be your friend, Felicity, even if my dumb brother decides not to keep seeing you."

"I think we're done. I can't- I won't be the other woman."

"Nor should you be. But if he ever, as you so eloquently put it, gets his head out of his ass, I'll also be there for you and tell him what's what."

"You're the best."

Thea hugged Felicity. "I know."


	4. In Which Oliver Actually Spills a Latte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What it says on the tin. Alternate to their first meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love rewriting this scene too much.

At the sound of a throat clearing, a young blonde in the IT department of Queen Consolidated looked up. She gaped, pulling the pen she'd been nibbling on away from her mouth before she could embarrass herself any further.

The gorgeous man dressed impeccably stood in front of her and spoke. She never knew her name could sound quite so _remarkable_ coming from a certain pair of lips. "Felicity Smoak? Hi, I'm Oliver Queen."

Felicity reminded herself that she was one of the smartest people in the building, if not the smartest, and she knew how to put words together. "Of course. I know who you are. You're Mr. Queen." There, that wasn't so bad.

He chuckled and her heart raced. "No, Mr. Queen is my father."

"Right. Mr. Queen, the CEO of Queen Consolidated, the company his father's father founded the company back in 1940 where it was just a..." she trailed off, blushing as he watched her, his lips quirking up in amusement, "and of course you already know the history of all that, so I'll stop babbling so you can tell me what I can do for you in three, two, one-"

He pulled out a laptop from the case he had on his side. "I'm having some trouble with my computer and they told me you were the person to come and see. I was in my office and my EA dropped a latte on it. They sent a Mr. Ryant, but he said it was a lost cause. I was told everything should be backed up in my laptop, but I hardly use it and when Mr. Ryant tried to locate the files, he couldn't figure it out. It was a hard 

Before Felicity could control herself, she blurted, "Okay, first of all, that was a jerk move. Firing your EA just because she made a mistake is awful. Second, you don't have the power to fire them. Only your dad does, in this case, since you're only getting to know the company before you actually become CEO."

Her cheeks burned, but she kept her gaze stern and he had the gal to simply raise a brow. When it looked like he wasn't going to say anything, she _almost_ folded.

So firing Mr. Ryant wouldn't have been awful?" He grinned. 

She smiled brightly in return. Extending her hand to request the laptop, she shook her head and got to work. "Of course not. Gilbert is incompetent if he can't do a simple recovery. Though, to be fair, I did design and encrypt the recovery cloud so it would be for QC eyes only and have personal accounts as well. But everyone was trained on how to use them."

He sat down beside her, looking over her shoulder and Felicity had to remember to breathe. Thankfully, she knew the system like the back of her hand. Or as well as she knew the insides of a computer, which was definitely better. Point being, it was a breeze to recover all of Mr. Qu- Oliver's files. With a few clicks, she spun in her chair to face him. "All done." She felt a proud smirk form on her face and, really, she deserved it. 

"Just like that?" His disbelief hurt some, but if Gilbert had been assigned to him, she couldn't blame him. 

"Just like that. I did build the program, so it'd be a shame if I didn't know it from the inside out." 

"I'd like to know you from the inside out." He gave her a smirk of his own which turned to bemusement when she burst out laughing. 

"Does that line actually work on anyone?" She tried to stiffle her giggling, but it was all in vain. 

Oliver shrugged. "No clue. This is the first time I've used it and you've yet to respond." 

"You never asked a question," she pointed out. "And if you say it was implied, then I'll just say, my response was laughter." 

A look of consternation formed and for a minute Felicity wondered if she should have kept careful boundaries. If so, he shouldn't have hit on her, she thought to herself. 

"You're right." He tilted his head and seemed to be deep in thought about something. "I have a girlfriend," he stated simply. 

"All of Starling knows," she assured him. 

"But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to get to know you better. As friend," he assured before she could say anything. 

It was her turn to seriously contemplate him. "Alright. How about lunch on Friday? As friends," she reiterated. 

He nodded with a smile. "Friday sounds perfect. I'll have my not-fired EA put it in my calendar." 

Felicity turned back to her computer and, a few keystrokes later, turned back. "Done. It's on your calendar and mine. Separate calendars, that is, not that _we_ have a calendar. Your calendar and my calendar. They're on our _two_ separate calendars." 

He laughed as he stood. "Until Friday?" 

"Friday." She nodded. "And don't forget, if you stand me up, I can access your files _anytime_." With that, she turned her attention back to her computer and didn't turn around again until she was sure Oliver had exited the IT department. 

Because of that, she didn't see him linger just before he left. 

**Author's Note:**

> Also, decided to make them chapters rather than individual stories since they're interconnected somehow or another and they're drabbles, lol.


End file.
